Summary
September 2002 was part of Iceland's early autumn shoulder season, with the first northern lights appearances. Foreign guests recorded 58,467 overnight stays in hotels, compared to 54,482 in September 2001—a +7.3% change year-over-year.
National hotel occupancy stood at 57.1%, up 0.4 percentage points from 56.7% in 2001. Foreign card spending totaled 1.5 billion ISK (0.0% YoY).
September 2002 in context
Foreign hotel nights for the year to date, January through September, reached 548,373, up 5.2% on the same period of 2001. Within 2002, September ranked 4th of the twelve months by foreign nights. Against the average for September over the five preceding years, this month came in ahead by 14.1%.
United States of America was the largest source market with 17.8% of foreign hotel nights, and the top three markets together accounted for 45.4%. Hotel occupancy of 57.1% means that share of available rooms was sold across the month; this is typical of Iceland's low season, when many rural hotels close and demand concentrates in Reykjavík. Spending figures are foreign card turnover reported by the Central Bank and exclude cash and purchases made before arrival.
Foreign Overnight Stays by Source Market
The top source markets for September 2002, ranked by overnight stays:
| Rank | Market | Nights 2002 | Nights 2001 | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | 10,416 | 10,097 | +3.2% | 17.8% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 8,933 | 10,384 | -14.0% | 15.3% |
| 3 | Denmark | 7,192 | 4,554 | +57.9% | 12.3% |
| 4 | Norway | 6,977 | 5,975 | +16.8% | 11.9% |
| 5 | Germany | 5,819 | 5,172 | +12.5% | 10.0% |
| 6 | Sweden | 5,693 | 5,603 | +1.6% | 9.7% |
| 7 | France | 2,347 | 1,743 | +34.7% | 4.0% |
| 8 | Netherlands | 2,277 | 2,543 | -10.5% | 3.9% |
| 9 | Other European countries | 1,722 | 1,418 | +21.4% | 2.9% |
| 10 | Finland | 1,716 | 1,772 | -3.2% | 2.9% |
Hotel Occupancy by Region
Regional hotel occupancy rates for September 2002:
| Region | Occupancy 2002 | Occupancy 2001 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 70.7% | 72.6% | -1.9 pp |
| Total | 57.1% | 56.7% | +0.4 pp |
| East | 54.0% | 50.6% | +3.4 pp |
| West & Westfjords | 46.6% | 40.8% | +5.8 pp |
| North | 43.6% | 32.0% | +11.6 pp |
| South | 34.0% | 33.6% | +0.4 pp |
Foreign Card Spending
Total foreign card turnover in September 2002 was 1,451 million ISK (1.45 billion ISK), compared to 0 million ISK in September 2001.
This represents a 0.0% year-over-year change.
Domestic Tourism
Icelandic residents recorded 12,234 overnight stays in hotels in September 2002, up 9.4% from 11,185 in 2001.
Data Sources
- Overnight Stays: Statistics Iceland (Hagstofa Íslands) — foreign and domestic guest nights in registered hotels
- Occupancy Rates: Statistics Iceland — room occupancy as % of available hotel capacity
- Card Spending: Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki Íslands) — foreign debit/credit card turnover